Exclusive Interview: Jesse Eisenberg

He may play a small-town loser with explosive issues in 30 Minutes or Less, but off-screen Jesse Eisenberg's career is blowing up! plus, he's adorable, smart, and a total gentleman (he politely offered to split the pretzel he was munching on while we chatted). Check out everything he had to say about his new movie, doing his own stunts, and the quality he finds most attractive in a girl!

17: Is it hard to go from doing intense movies like The Social Network to light-hearted comedies like 30 Minutes or Less?

Jesse Eisenberg: It's funny. For me, the experience doesn't really change. In this movie, my character [Nick] has a bomb strapped to his chest. That's a very dramatic situation to be in, and yet the movie is very funny. Then, in The Social Network, my character's creating a website, which is not a very dramatic situation to be in, but the movie is very dramatic.

17: Your character Nick drives like a crazy person, in this movie. What's the coolest car stunt you got to do?

JE: It was during this extended car chase where we're being pursed by the cops. The way we shot it was unlike any other thing I've ever seen: they just put our car in between 25 stunt drivers. These talented drivers were paid to drive around me and make sure that they didn't hit me, and my job was to drive as recklessly and quickly as possible. This seems like the way they would shoot every movie, but actually no movie shoots that way because it's really dangerous. But that's how we did it, and it looks really cool!

17: Did you ever has a terrible first job, like Nick does, delivering pizza?

JE: No, I didn't. So I went out with a guy who worked at the pizza place where we shot to see what it was like for a night. It gave me some good insight. Like, in the movie, my character goes into this very dangerous situation where he's delivering pizza to these two small-town criminals. When I read the script I thought, why would this character even go in to this situation? But then when I was out with the pizza delivery guy, I realized that was totally the norm. Every night you go into these weird situations and deliver to people who are scary.

17: You've been with your current girlfriend forever. What's your best relationship advice?

JE: Oh god, I don't know, just be nice! I've had one girlfriend my whole life. I've never been on a date with anybody else. I don't have good advice!

17: Well before you met her, what were you looking for in a girl? What's the most important quality a good girlfriend has?

JE: I find people who want to help other people to be the most interesting. I come from a family of teachers, and my friends are teachers, often times in very difficult school situations. My job is so selfish and focused on my own vanity that I like to surround myself with people who are actually helping people throughout their day.